ACLU Comment on the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act 

WASHINGTON — Today the motion to proceed with a vote on the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act failed to pass the Senate on a 50-49 vote.

Christopher Anders, ACLU federal policy director, said:

“The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would continue the historic work of the Voting Rights Act in rooting out voting barriers that discriminate against voters of color. Throughout history, support for the Voting Rights Act has been bipartisan and decisive. Past presidents in both political parties have signed the Voting Rights Act and its succeeding reauthorizations. The Senate must figure out how to work around the filibuster as an obstacle blocking consideration of this landmark legislation.”

“Senators in support of federal voting rights legislation know that they have multiple options for overcoming the filibuster rule; now they must choose an option and pass the bill. No senator should be hiding behind the Senate filibuster rule, in order to claim that a majority of the Senate cannot figure out how to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to protect the voting rights of racial and ethnic minority voters.

“Given the attacks on our democracy in the last year and upcoming elections in 2022, this bill must be on President Biden’s desk this year. The Senate must remove any and all obstacles preventing this bill from being signed into law. We must act now to fortify our democracy.”